Can't Get to Today's Launch? See the Space Shuttles in Intricate Detail

By Nancy Atkinson - February 24, 2011 at 9:26 AM UTC | Space Exploration
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We've mentioned the NASATech website before, but this unique website and the incredible images by John O'Connor bear repeating. And for those of you wishing you were at the STS-133 launch today but can't be here, seeing John's high resolution, pan-able images is almost better -- you'll probably never get as close to the orbiters as these images can bring you. The image above is a screen clip of space shuttle Discovery on the launchpad, from the perspective of looking up at the orbiter from standing by the right OMS pod, and I was looking at another of John's images of Endeavour in the Orbiter Processing Facility where I was able to read the markings on each of the heat-resistant tiles on the orbiter's underside. John creates extremely high resolution virtual tours, and the interactive 360 degree images he creates are nothing short of stunning — but they are also very bandwidth intensive — so be prepared, and watch out if you don't have high speed internet or if you have a lot of browsers or windows open on your computer.

Right now on his website you can see different views of Endeavour preparing for the next mission, STS-134, and scroll down a bit to find all sorts of images of Discovery from several different perspectives. See her before she launches on her final mission, STS-133.

John describes his photography work on his website as "featuring the people, the technology, and the mission of the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Compiled within is a unique gallery of the inner workings of America's reach for the stars." Beautiful!

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com